Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Raina surprised with Australia's decision to not play warm-up games
New Delhi, Feb 4: Former India batter Suresh Raina is baffled by Australian team's decision to opt for simulation training rather than play warm-up games ahead of the first Border-Gavaskar Test, starting February 9 in Nagpur.
The Australian team are currently training in Bengaluru and are practising on rank turners, having summoned little known Baroda spinner Mahesh Pithiya, whose bowling action resembles Ravichandran Ashwin.
But Raina, one of India's finest white ball players, feels that Australia might have missed a trick.
"I have played practice matches (ahead of Tests) and they are really important. They (Australia) can understand the quality of pitches in India only if they play on them," Raina told PTI on the sidelines of Mission Olympics Annual Day Meet, organised by Police Families Welfare Society.
Raina is confident that India will do well in the four-Test series and Ravindra Jadeja's comeback will add fine balance to the squad.
"I am happy with Jadeja's comeback after a long time," said the southpaw.
"Our spinners R Ashwin, Axar Patel are doing well. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been in good form and I think we will get to watch an interesting series in the coming days."
While visiting teams are always welcomed on rank turners during Test matches in the sub-continent, Raina would like to see a track that would hold on for five days.
He however didn't want to predict the outcome of the series.
"Let it begin first. A Test match should be five-day long. I will only comment (on performance) after watching the first day and seeing the focus of players."
Raina is very happy that there is so much competition for places in the national team across formats.
"It is an achievement (that many are worthy of a place in the Indian team). When there is such a competition we will get the best performance from the players."
He also welcomed BCCI's decision to organise the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL).
"WPL is going to be very beneficial for women cricketers of our country. And it is great that the (women) U-19 team won the World Cup."
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Top Cong leaders attend CWC meet, discuss further action against govt on G RAM G law
New Delhi (PTI): Top Congress leaders on Saturday are attending a crucial meeting of the working committee, the party's highest decision-making body.
They are deliberating on the current political situation in the country and the party's further action against the government after it replaced the UPA-era rural employment scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) with the new Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G).
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The extended meeting of the Congress Working Committee is being attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and former party president Rahul Gandhi, besides chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states of Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.
Presidents of Pradesh Congress Committees (PCC) are also present at the meeting.
The meeting comes ahead of next year's assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and the leaders are expected to deliberate on the party strategy.
The opposition party is set to finalise its action plan to counter the government after it repealed the MGNREGA, 2005.
The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill that replaced the UPA-era MGNREGA was passed during the recently concluded winter session of Parliament. President Droupadi Murmu has already given her assent to it.
The Congress and other opposition parties have taken strong exception to the new law replacing MGNREGA, stating that it is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi as his name has been removed from its title.
The new law makes a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work.
However, instead of being a Central scheme, the new law provides that the Centre and the states will have to share a 60:40 per cent ratio funding for the scheme.
आज कांग्रेस मुख्यालय इंदिरा भवन में कांग्रेस वर्किंग कमेटी (CWC) की बैठक हुई।
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 27, 2025
इस बैठक में कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge, CPP चेयरपर्सन श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी जी और नेता विपक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi समेत वर्किंग कमेटी के सदस्य मौजूद रहे।
📍 दिल्ली pic.twitter.com/59tNp0qawD
संविधान विरोधी BJP pic.twitter.com/YA2kBGIW1E
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 27, 2025
